Compound metal and process of making the same.



W. M. PAGE.

COMPOUND METAL AND, PROCESS OF MAKING THE SAME.

APPLICATION PI LED JULY 13, 1908. 9%933? Patented Feb. 22, 1910.

M w m Inventor: Mm

imrrnn s'ra'rns rnrrianr orrros.

WII LIAH H. PAGE, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR I0 METALS COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

COMPOUND METAL AND PROCESS OF MAKING THE SAME,

assess.

Specification of Letters fatent.

Patented Feb. 22, 191%.

Application filed July 18, 1908. Serlai'Ko. $43,339.

To all whom it mag, concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM. M. Rios, a citizen of the United States, residing at Philadelphia, county of Philadelphia, and. State of Pennsylvania, have invented a certain new and useful Compound Metal and Process of Making the Same, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to compound metals and processes .of inakin same; and comprises bodies of compoun metal comprising layers of ferrous metal mseparably, permanently and firmly united to layers of un-.

like, high melting metals, preferably a cop'- perlike metal, such as copper itself or a cuprifcrous metal, with the aid of e linking unlike, low-meltin comparatively volatile mctal, or of an al oy thereof with the for ions metal; and it also comprises a. method of making such compound metals wherein bodies of clean, metallic-surfaced ferrous.

metal are fumed with vapors of low-melting,

comparatively volatile metal, thereby prob-- ably producing a superficial alloying'of aparticular type and also producing a superiicial heating to a comparatively high temperature without. destruction of a metallic Surface, such fumed metals being afterward united to layers of nonferrous, high melting metal by bringing such unlike metal 1n contact therewith in a molten state; all as more fully hereinafter set forth and as claimed.

Iron and its various alloys and compounds of a metallic nature, such as the various steels, do not readily unite with or weld to unlike, high melting metals of a difiercnt chemical and physical type, such as copper and the copperlike metals, such as silver and gold. And the same is true of the ironlikc metals, nickel and cobalt, manganese, etc. Good unions between metals or".- the two groups may be produced bys .-cial expedients, as in themethods of Job. F erreol Monnot, Patent No. 853,716, but the ordinary methods of welding or uniting the metals of one such group among themselves do not give good or ermanent unionsbetween metals of the different groups. This difiiculty of union is further accentuated by the fact that in practice with ordinary methods of heating it is' difficult to bring iron and ironlike metals to the hi h temperatures.

necessary to produce weldike unions with clean, perfectly metallic surfaces, iron-and like metals being prone to oxidize and, when heated in reducing flames, to become sootcd, such metals having a strong afiinity for carbon. Clean metallic surfaces at a high temperature are imperatively necessary in pro ucing any firm, cohesive union between iron or ironlike metals and metals of the copper oup. Iron may beheated in cruci' bles an the like when surrounded with atmospheres of neutral and indifferent gases, such as carbon nionoxid or nitrogen, pro ducer gas, etc., but this involves more or less heating by convection of such gases, and their low density and specific heat render this a slow process. y

In the present invention, '1 have devised a cheap, Sll11)l0 andready method of producing the esired type of union between metals of the two classes, and of bringing such ironlike metals up to any temperature desired without destruction of a metallic surface.

Iron and metals of the iron group while not readily uniting with copper and highmelting metals of the copper class, do unite comparatively readily with various low melting and comparatively volatile metals of the zinc and tin classes, while, on the other hand these lowmelt.ing metals also unite even more readily with metals of the copper class. This fact is utilized in the present process.

Iron and steel are frequently coated with a substantial layer of zinc or tin by various dipping processes to produce the ordinary galvanized and tinned artlcles. This coating, however, is applied to the finished or nearly finished article; it being impracticable to coat a. steel billet with such asubstantial coating of these metals and work it down to wire or sheets, as can be done with suitable high-melting metals by the Monnot coating processes, zinc and tin being too fusible, volatile and oxidizable to withstand the comparatively high temperatures necesm a superficial teni 'erature as h as 1190' In the present-invention iron and ironlike metals are first given a clean metallic surface by any suitablemeans, as by sandblasting, and are then fumed by exposure to the metallic surface, but zinc vapors bein dense and hot quickly give the ferrous meta essar The con notion of heat by ferrous meta s being relatively slow, this heating may be quite superficiahthc surface of the billet being at a high temperature while'its core may not be very hot. As oxygen and zinc vapor cannot coexist, in this heating operation the ferrous metal cannot become oxidized. Iron thus treated with .zinc vapors-itakes up some zinc superficially without forming a real coating layer of such zinc, becoming superficially impregnated with a minimal amount thereof; possibly from the formation of a-high-iron alloy not enough zinc is taken up to endanger subsequent operations. An iron billet thus'heat'ed on the one hand is given the necessary superficial temperature-to allow it to be contacted with molten copper, etc., while. preserving a clean metallic surface (a'matter of some difiiculty by'most heating methods) and on the other'hand it is rendered more disposed to unite with such unlike metals as copper and the copper group so that low'er-tem' erature coating metal may be employed. inc, as stated, has adispositlon'to unite both with the ironlike and the copperlikemetals, and the minimal amount of zinc in-the surface of the so-treated billet. much facilitates union with copper, brass and. .1 the cupriferous metals generally, as well as with gold and silver, and even aluminum, the zinc-impregnated 11011 of the-surface actlng as 'a hnkmg nexus between the iron and the other meta Thls fact isvery convenientin forming brass-clad steel by uniting a fumed ferrous metal .with molten brass. Brass does not well withstand the high temperatures necess'aryin uniting it with iron direct to" form a weld unioni The amount of zincde osited n the. superfici'es of the ferrous meta billet s too small to affect the'malleabili'ty' inunously. Any iron-zinc alloy formed is and so is natura metal-- as would he n with a substantl coating of zinc.

e heating and 'im'pregnationof the ironm a be done in any convenient apparatus wit any convenient source of zinc vapors. A casmg of suitable materialmay for instance have its bottom covered with .a. layer of 'veeir'y hot melted z nc, and may then .be heat Zinc vapor being very heavy, the will formed at the-temperature of vaporized zinc,

y stable at such temperature and thezinc does notrevolatilize .on' contact with the coatixgf 'QOIS of zinc, tin,

fill with a body of zinc vapor extending to a oint near the top, and into this body the bi let. oizthe like may be lowered. Heating may be by transmitted fire heat, by electric heating or by any other suitable means. The supply with ordinary pig-zinc or with melted zinc cast in. The billet is allowed to remain in the zinc vapor for the length of time necessary for heating or impregnation or both.

Zinc dust or blue zinc may be used as a source of the zinc vapor, being mixed with 'a little carbon to reduce oxid.. Or zinc foxid of metal may be replenished mixed with carbon may be directly employed. Other comparatively volatile metals such as aluminum or tin-may be employed with the same results as zinc, but they require, and impart, much hi her tempera tures. Antimony and bismut may also be used, but are less suitable;

In the accompanying illustration I have shown, more or less diagrammatically, one of the inany'types of a paratus which inay be used in erforming t is described process.

In this s owin Figure 1 shows a central vertical section 0 the apparatus as arranged for treatin articles to be'coated with metallic fumes; ig. 2 showsa similar view of the same parts after the introduction of the casing to form themold surrounding said object. Fig. 3 shows a top view of a por -tion of the structure shown in Fig. 1. 1

' In the drawin' s, 1 designates a heating furnace of suita le construction and 2 a chamber of suitable material preferably refractory/material, within said furnace and adapted to be heated by suitable means, as forexample a flame jet from a burner 3.

4 designates a vessel adapted to contain molten readily vaporizable metal-such as zinc, said chamber 4 connected by a flue 5 with the interior of chamber 2. This chamber t is arranged to be heated by suitable means, as for example; a burner 6. Charm,- ber 2 isprovided with a cover"? 1n whlch is an opening 8, for the passage of the article to be coated anda casing to .form-the sides of the mold. .In Fig. 2, 9.,designates this casing and 10 a bottom piece therefor,

which bottom piece may. conveniently be removabl attached to'the article ll to be coated. is bottom piece '10 has in it a groove 12 adapted to receive the lower edge .of'the'casing9. The. manner of carrying on. the operation is as follows: The article 11 to be coated s y the vapors in introduced'into chamber 2 which chamber' is filled with the vapor of-the metal from rs toheatthee ll and a so to protect free this manner, said uapors will combine with its surface as previously stated, forming a coatin or impregnation thereon of an 1nscpara le character with which coating the main coating metal (copper, brass, etc.) to be cast against such surface su uently, will combine readily. Or, the ob ect- 11 may be heated in another furnace un er conditions precluding oxidation and may be transferred tothe va or filled chamber 2 under conditions recluding oxidation, in the manner and y the means descmbed and. illustrated in the patent to John F. Monnot, No. 853,716, dated May 14, 1907. The article 11 havin been suficiently acted upon by the meta lic vapors in chamber 2,-the casing 9 is introduced into the mold and eaused to make a tight fit with the bottom plate 10, and then molten metal to form the maih coating is poured .into the space between the object 11 and the .sides of this chamber 9, the molten metal so east combining with the coatin vor impregnated metal metallic va or and so producing the deslred coating. referably the molten metal so formed, on the'sur' ace ofobjectll by the 1 cast is cast into thecasing 9 through a substantial .th-ickness'of molten wiping material as described in the Monnotapplication Sr.

No.- 391,673,-filed Sept. 6, 1907, whereby the'molten metal is free from entrained and occluded ases, oxid impurities, etc'., and a casting 0 time uniform character is as- For convenience in handling the article to bc coated,,l customarily. rovide it with a porter bar113. To cover t e opening in the cover 7 through which the article to be coated and the casing 9 are introduced, 1 provide a supplemental two part cover 14.

What I claim is 1. The'process of making cladmetal articles which'comprises fuming and heating a ferrous metal with the vapors of alow-melting metal and subsequently *coatin'g the fumedv surface with a high-melting nonferrous metal,

The process of making clad metal articles .which comprises producin a clean metallic surface on a ferrous meta object, fummg and heating 881d surface with the vapors of a low-melting metal, contacting said surcles which com risesfuming si'irfacc-w-ith t e vapors o surfacenvith aj copper alloy.

face with a molten high-melting'non-ferrous metalfand allowingsaid molten metal to solidify thereagainst' v o 3. The'process of making clad metal articles which comprises fuming and heating aferrous metal surface with thevapors of a low-melting metal and subsequently coat ng.

the fumed surface with a cupriferous metal.

4. .The process of making clad metal artia ferrous metal a low -melting metal-and subsequently coatingr the fumed 5. The process of making clad metal articles which com rises fuming a' ferrous metal surface with t e vapors of a low-meltin metal and subsequently coating the fume surface with brass.

6. The recess of making clad metal articles whic1 comprises heating-and fuming the surface of a ferrous metal object with zinc vapors, and subsequently coating the fumed surface with a high-melting nonferrous metal.

7. The recess of making. clad metal articles WlllCl comprises producing a .blean metallic surface on an ferrous metal object,

fumingand heating such ferrous metal with zinc vapors, and subsequently coating the fumed surface with a copper alloy.

.10. The process of'maklng cladv metal art1- cles which comprises producing a clean metallic surface on a ferrous metal object, fuming and heating such ferrous metal wlth zinc vapors,and subsequently coating the fumed surface with brass. 11. The process of producin clad metals which comprises producing a c ean metallic surface on a ferrous metal object, heating said'surface whilereserving its metallic character by contacting with hotvapors of an oxidizable metal and thereafter contactingmoltcn coating metal with such heated surfa ce. 1

- 12. The process of producin clad metals which comprises producing a c can metallic surface on a ferrous met 1 object, placing said object in a heating chamber containing vapors of oxidizablemetal until such surface is sufficiently heated, lacing a mold casing next such heated sur ace and casting molten coating metal between. the mold casing and the heated surface.

13. The process of.producin clad metals 12o which comprises producing a c ea-nmetallic surface an a ferrous metal object, placing said object in a heating chamber containin hot zinc vapors till such surface issu ciently heated, lacing a mold casing next such heated 'sur ace and casting moltencoating metal between the mold casing and the heated surface.

14. A clad metal article comprising a body of ferrous' 'metal and a body of high V melting non-ferrous metal united by an mtar-mediate nexus formed by the actionof metallic vapor on a solid mam o f one of c said metals.

- meltm terme ate nexus formed by the action of vapor of a low meltin metal on a solid mass of one. of said meta 17. A clad metal article comprisin a body offerrous metal and a body of hlgh meltin non-ferrous metal united by an 1nterme late nexus formed by the action of vapor'of a low melting'metal on the ferrous metal. a

1 8'. A clad metal article comprising a body of ferrous metal and a body of high seeps? mel ti "non-ferrous metal united by an interms "term iate nexus formed by the action of zinc vapors on the ferrous metal.

20. A clad metal article comprising a substantial layer of a ferrous metal united with a substantial layer of a cu rous metal, there being a minute amount 0 zinc impre ating the surfaces of said united met the line of joinder, I

- In testimony whereof I a'fix my signature, in the presence of two witnesses.

' WHILIAM M. PAGE.

Witnesses:

J. W. M. Gama.

ate nexus formed by the action of zinc vapors on a solid mass of one of said- 

